Former Congress MLA from Pulakeshinagar , R Akhanda Srinivas Murthy joined the BJP on Wednesday. He had quit the Congress after being denied a ticket to contest the Assembly elections last year. Murthy subsequently entered the fray on a BSP ticket but lost.He was welcomed into the party fold by BJP veteran and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje, among other leaders. Pulakeshinagar Assembly constituency comes under Bangalore North Lok Sabha segment, from where Karandlaje is contesting in the coming Lok Sabha elections. “Srinivas Murthy joining BJP before the elections has given the party a big strength,” Yediyurappa said on the occasion. “Shobha Karandlaje winning with a margin of 2.5 lakh to three lakh votes is certain.
Akhanda told The New Indian Express that BJP candidate for Bangalore North Shobha Karandlaje met him last week and invited him to join the saffron party. “I agreed to her offer and will be officially joining the BJP on Wednesday,” the former MLA said. Akhanda contested from Pulakeshinagar on a BSP ticket in the 2023 Assembly elections and lost to AC Srinivasa of the Congress. Pulakeshinagar has a voter population of 2,36,000, which includes around 85,000 Muslims and 65,000 SCs/STs, followed by others.
“With me joining the BJP, the Muslim vote in Pulakeshinagar, which is consolidated in favour of the Congress, will split. We may be on equal footing. People in my constituency will stand by me,” he said. Akhanda, who is close to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, had quit the Congress after he was denied the ticket to contest last year’s assembly elections on the ground that the dominant minority community was allegedly upset with him after large-scale violence had broken out in DJ Halli and adjoining areas in Bengaluru on August 11, 2020.